Telco No. 2 adds 82K new bill users to its service.

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Yes, Yes, Yes: Optus increase mobile users by 5%

Optus is continuing its postpaid growth momentum with net additions of 82,000 customers in Jan-March period.

However, this 82,000 new additions included a “one-off ” reduction of 33,000 (to a wholesale service provider’s customer base), and also takes into account other users who may have ditched the telco during the period.

Excluding this one off adjustment, new postpaid customer additions were in fact higher, at 115,000, it said today.

Optus prepaid user numbers were “stable” at 4.29 million, bringing its total customer base to 9.49 m – up 5% from a year ago.

Postpaid customers comprised 55 % of the total base, up 2%.

The number of 3G Optus customers increased to 6.63 m, a 6% jump and includes 1.58 m wireless broadband customers, a significant 23% increase year-on-year.

In February, rival Telstra said it added 1 million new mobile customers (958,000) on phones and mobile broadband during the final six months of 2011, bringing its total mobile base to 13.2 m.

Optus’ biggest rival said mobile broadband customers also lifted 436,000 in the second half of last year,  totalling 2.7 m.

Singapore Telecommunications (SingTel) owners of optus, said the group had a total mobile customer base of 445 million, an increase of 42.9 million or 11% from a year ago.